Christmas Week Highlights

• On Christmas morning, despite the new bike and dollhouse, Ashley appeared most excited about her new Cinderella toothbrush.
  
• Sariah spent the morning in her new Care Bears apron, playing with her toy vacuum. All she needed was a pair of high heels and an oppressive husband and she would have made a perfect 50's housewife.
  
• I got Arrested Development on DVD. I'm pretty sure everyone needs to come over and watch it with me.
  
• My aunt and uncle came in from Baltimore for a week. They always stay with my Grandma, who also lives in the area. On Christmas morning, my aunt was so excited to get over here that she was up at 3:30. They ended up getting here early and waking everyone up.
  
• I was most excited that I had people to cook for. I spent most of last week cooking and baking and I was in heaven.
• This was the first year I've gotten to be part of the whole Santa/putting toys together/staying up late thing. It was fun.
  
• Ashley and I made and decorated cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. We had a great time. Her excitement officially melted my Grinchy heart, just in time for Christmas.
  
• On Christmas Day we were supposed to get a huge snowstorm. It was supposed to be one to tell the grandkids about. I think we got about an inch. Apparently it hit all around us, but missed Orem. I was not pleased.
  
• Some friends of the family came over on Saturday and they have some kind of special water filter that apparently makes your water magic. I'm going to start drinking their water and see if it makes me special in any way. They all looked exceedingly healthy, so keep your fingers crossed. I'll let you know if the magic elixir works.
  

Sunday Summary

• I really hope my next batch of Primary kids have fun prayers like these kids do. Today's closing prayer included the following: "Please bless that we'll be good and not yucky. Be in heaven, Father of God. Bless the food. Name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
• I'm pretty sure that people should stick with the traditional Mormon child spacing of every two years. It creates problems when you have children closer together because then they sit in the rows in front of and in back of each other in Sharing Time and basically harass each other the entire time. For example, one of my kids was wearing a hooded sweater today and his brother, who was sitting behind him, decided to pull on the hood and strangle him. I didn't actually see this happen; I heard the choking noises and apparently another teacher ran up from a couple rows back to stop him. Perhaps I would have noticed it if I hadn't been distracted by another pair of siblings who were trying to force each other to smell their feet.
• We received our ward photo directory today and a miracle has occurred . . . an actual Christmas miracle . . . my picture is quite good (relatively speaking). Let us take a moment now and thank the Lord for this generous gift.
  

My brother needs a helmet

Mark went and broke himself again. He went snowboarding and managed to break his clavicle. For those of you with no medical training (or who don't watch House or Grey's), that means he broke his collar bone. This, a month and a half after he broke his elbow (or at least the part of the arm bone that ends in the area of the elbow), and two weeks before he goes to Spain for four months. I think we're going to need to get him either a helmet or a bubble or maybe both.

must find

I woke up thinking about Airborne. Not this Airborne.


This Airborne.

I must find this movie. It's completely craptastic and I must watch it. Like right now. If you've never seen it, let me tell you why you should watch it. It has Seth Green and Jack Black in it before they were famous. And Seth has long, 90's style luscious locks in it. It also has the secretary from Ferris Bueller (Graaaaaaace!) and the teacher from Saved by the Bell. And oh yeah, it has Shane McDermott in it, who did pretty much nothing after this movie, but hello . . . he looked like this . . .


And o.k., so the movie isn't great (it got a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes), but the 90's weren't exactly known for their quality teen movies. They had a lot to live up to after the genius of the 80's and the Brat Pack. So, just watch it for fun, not for quality entertainment, and you'll have a great time. Trust me.

Primary talent show

Today in Primary we did the yearly talent show. (When I say we, I mean people other than myself, because I just don't do that. Plus, it was mainly for the kids.) One of my little boys got up with his mom and sang a song from "The Polar Express." It was the most hilarious, but yet most touching thing I have ever seen. I knew his mom could sing, so I was kind of expecting that he would be all cute and have this great voice. Not so much. But he was just so enthusiastic and earnest and sweet, and he was just really belting it out. And so while I was laughing, I was also crying like a baby. Just a little bit though. It was seriously touching. And at first I didn't realize that I was the only one crying, so I was trying to hide behind the kid who was sitting on my lap, but then I realized the Primary President was also crying, so I stopped being ashamed and openly wiped the tears and snot from my face. It was almost enough to melt my Grinchy heart. I wish I had it on video. It would be a YouTube classic for sure. I'm about to admit something that I will totally deny ever saying later, but I may possibly miss my little Primary kids next year. Of course this feeling could be completely erased next week when they're hyped up on pre-Christmas cheer.

lyrics question

In the song, "Summertime" by New Kids on the Block (No, I will never stop talking about them. Don't even ask.), there is a line that says "with your flip flops, half shirt, short shorts, mini skirt, walkin' on the beach so pretty . . ." My question is . . . why is this girl wearing both short shorts and a mini skirt? Judging by the components of her ensemble, modesty is not her top priority, so I don't understand why she has both of those items on. In my mind she's looking a little stupid right about now. Maybe they just needed more syllables for that line of the song. I don't know. All I know is it bugs me every time I hear it. I love the song, but not so much that line. You should go listen to the song and tell me what you think.

My apologies

I've been slacking with the posts again. In my defense, it was the last week of classes and I have finals coming up, so I've been just a tad bit busy. Actually, not as busy as I should be because I decided like a month ago that I was done with this semester and I didn't want to put forth any more effort. That's kind of the story of my life-unless I really love something, I tend to only put forth enough effort to get by. I am most definitely not a perfectionist or a go-getter. Mainly because I just don't care enough. I'm really glad there are perfectionists and go-getters out there though, because otherwise nothing would ever get done. So hats off to you guys. Thanks for enabling my slackerness.

None of that was the point of this post. The point of this post is that I subscribe to lots of blogs. No, really . . . lots and lots of blogs. Like possibly a couple of hundred. Don't you dare judge me-I fully admit I have no life. So I thought I would share some of the joy with you and post a couple of links here and there. My requirements for blogs that I read are that they must contain either pretty pictures, recipes, funnies, celebrity gossip, or be written by people I know. Here are the feeds for today. Just go ahead and subscribe. You know you want to.

• Austin Bush Photography (to subscribe to the feed, use austinbushphotography.com/feed/)
  
• Old Fashioned Homemaking
  
• TMZ

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for the content of these blogs. Well, other than the fact that I like them and recommended them. But if you read something you disagree with or that offends you, don't come crying to me.

ew

Jennifer Connelly's legs look like they're transplants from Body Worlds. Make sure you click to make it bigger so you get the full effect.

Um . . .

I didn't realize exactly how many blog posts there were and how long it would take to go onto each one and label it, so don't be expecting all this labeling to be done for a while. Like for at least a few weeks. And it's kind of hard to decide on categories. Do I just do a general category of celebrities or do I need to have separate ones for Shia and Zac Efron? Or maybe one for general celebrities and one for hotties? Obviously I gave New Kids on the Block their own category instead of just putting them under music, but that was a given. And why am I even bothering with this labeling thing anyway? I was just going to do recipes so that I could find things easier, but then it got out of control. I realize I'm only doing this to avoid studying for finals, but now that I've started, it's become an obsession and I can't stop.

FYI pt. 2

Oh, and I also added a little email button thing so that if I post something wonderful and fabulous, you can easily email it to all of your friends. Or, more likely, if there's a recipe you want to try (because I post them so often), you can email it to yourself to print out later.

FYI

I'm going to start changing things up a little bit. Instead of having a Recipe o the Week that I don't update on a weekly basis, I'm just going to post recipes when I feel like it and start labeling the posts so you can find them all in one place. I'm also going to go back and include all the former Recipes o the Week in the post in which I announced that there was a new recipe. It was bugging me that once I changed the recipe, there was no record of the previous one. So this is my solution. Plus, I can never find my recipes for Texas Sheet Cake or Blender Pancakes, but I've posted the recipes on here before, so every time I want to make them, I have to look them up on my blog. So really, this whole thing is just to make my own life easier, not yours.

Also, I think I'm done with the Hottie du Jour feature. Not because I don't enjoy gazing at them lovingly, but because, except for a day here and there, they're always the same person. And I'll admit it, I am slightly ashamed of my Shia obsession. There, I said it.

I'm also going to fix my playlist so that it doesn't automatically start playing. Why? Because the first thing I do when I go onto anyone's blog is look to see if they have one and immediately turn it off. It's not that I don't like your music, it's that I already have my own music playing (and sometimes your music does suck, but mostly it's just that my music is already going). So since I would prefer that yours not start automatically, I'll change mine to not start automatically as well.

great website

The Big Picture from The Boston Globe. Plus, this was on the front page (of the website, I don't know about the actual paper).

she's gone wiccan

Well, maybe not wiccan, but definitely new age-y. Every year or so I go through a new age-y/Buddhist/spirituality kick. Not that I'm leaving my Church or anything, but I do start coloring mandalas, meditating, thinking about doing yoga (occasionally I'll do a little downward facing dog and child's pose, but that's about it), and reading up on all sorts of what I call "New Age, You Go Girl" literature. Technically it isn't all new age, but it is about being a powerful woman. Here is what is currently on my bedside table. Some I've read before, some are new. And a couple aren't actually NAYGG books, but they're still good.

• "The New Feminine Brain: Developing Your Intuitive Genius" by Mona Lisa Schulz
• "Women Who Run With the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
• "Wise Women: Over 2000 Years of Spiritual Writing by Women" by Susan Cahill
• "The Witch of Portobello" by Paulo Coelho (fiction)
• "Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living" by Pema Chodron
• "Living by the Word: Selected Writings 1973-1987" by Alice Walker
• "Dematerializing: Taming the Power of Possessions" by Jane Hammerslough
  

I think it's good every once in a while to declutter your mind, retreat from the world just a little bit and remember that spirituality and religion aren't the same thing. Are you the kind of person who lives their religion as a checklist? Prayer-check. Family Home Evening-check. Scripture reading-check. Do you go through the motions because that's what you're supposed to do or do you actually feel it? Does it bring you joy or does it just bring you more things to add to your to-do list? My new age-y kicks seem to always come at a time when I'm just going through the motions, but not really feeling it. They always seem to help me refocus my priorities and realize that I'm doing things for all the wrong reasons. So if you're ever feeling the same way, I hope you won't be scared off by any kind of new age stigma (i.e. thoughts of pagans celebrating the Solstice, etc.) and you'll consider checking into it. This doesn't mean you need to start buying crystals or anything like that, but just try to get more in touch with the world and not the worldly.

interesting article

Polish Jew gave his life defining, fighting genocide

stuff

I kind of got blogged out for a while there and had to take a little hiatus in order to preserve my sanity. Here's what's been going on in the last week and a half-ish:

• If I could stop Christmas from coming, I would. I'm just not feeling it this year.
  
• Last week in Primary the music lady was teaching the kids a new Christmas song and she asked the kids who Mary's husband was. One of the kids answered "Heavenly Father." I almost blurted out "He was her baby daddy, not her husband," but fortunately I realized how unbelievably inappropriate that would have been, and I stopped myself.
  
• Only one more week of classes left. I don't know if I can make it.
  
• Remember that Mexican Tomato Lime soup recipe I posted a few weeks ago? I made it again, but added black beans and diced green chilies and it was even better than the last time. You really should try it.
  
• "Swiss Family Robinson" was on t.v. today. I love the old Disney movies. They prepared you for real life. Kids today are spoiled by princesses and happily ever after. The real world just isn't that nice. Sometimes your dog gets rabies and you have to shoot it. That's just the way it goes.
  

this afternoon

This afternoon was kind of a downer. Ty's mom, Lisa, didn't have much time to visit with us on Monday, but wanted us to come back again, so we stopped by today. We ended up going over to the mortuary to see Ty because we weren't going to be around Friday for the funeral. It was weird. He didn't look how I remember him. He was really swollen, clean-shaven (that was the first time I had ever seen him not scruffy), and all of his piercings had been taken out. And he was just so lifeless. I know, he's dead, and dead people tend to be lifeless. That didn't make it any less weird. I'm kind of glad that he didn't look like himself. The whole way over there I just kept praying that I would be able to hold it together. If he had looked like the big ole puppy dog of a guy I know, I would not have been o.k. And now my last memory of him isn't so much him lying in a casket because it just didn't seem like him. I don't know. It's all still very surreal.

We were going to go home tomorrow because Lorri had to work Friday, but she found people to cover her shifts so we can stay for the funeral. I'm really glad we'll be able to be here for it. The last funeral I went to was my Uncle Soren's and it was sad, but not overly sad because he was old. He lived his life; his wife had been gone for years already, etc. This won't be the first funeral I've gone to of someone my age, and I'm sure it won't be the last. They are definitely a different kind of funeral. It makes you think about why you're still here and they're not. You think about how you're not so different from each other and if you're not careful, it could be you. And you wonder just what it is you're supposed to be doing with your life. Or maybe I'm just doing too much thinking!

Dancing With the Stars

I'm a "So You Think You Can Dance" fan which means that I can't watch "Dancing With the Stars" because I'm used to good dancing. Lorri and her mom, however, enjoy the mediocrity, so we watched the finale last night and the night before. I was completely horrified last night by Kim Kardashian's dancing. Actually, I don't even know that it could be called dancing. (And for that matter, can she really even be called a star?) While she was un-rhythmically jiggling her junk, I was literally cringing and praying for it to end. And Cloris . . . CLORIS! What to say about Cloris? I admit that she does make me laugh, but only in an "oh, I'm so embarrassed for you" kind of a way. I did enjoy comedian dude's roast of the top 3 contestants, although I think he went waaaay too easy on Brooke. I had never watched the show before Monday and even I could come up with plenty of snarky comments to make. Like how about the fact that Lance and Warren are known for having actual careers, while she's just referred to as the "hot mama." And don't even get me started on her boobs. I will admit, though, that I thought it was tender when her fiance, Baywatch Ken, was all proud and crying. His perfectly tanned chin all a-quiver was too cute. So anyway . . . I will most likely never ever watch this show again, but what I did watch was better than I expected.

The fam

Lorri and her stepdad, Robert. He's hilarious.

Lorri's mom, Cecilia aka Ce aka Tudy. Best cook ever.

Lorri's hot brother, Alex. He's hot. (And that's his oldest daughter, Jenna.)

Lorri's son, Casey. Don't worry, that's not his pink phone.

And here's Robert again, just because I love this picture.

Cortni

Here are some pics of Cortni. That's Lorri's mom, Ce, in the second picture, and Lorri in the last one.

Ty

One of my favorite memories of Ty is when he, Lorri, Ryan and I went tubing . . . in a drainage ditch . . . underneath the road . . . fully clothed. Ty is the one on the left in the picture above. I'm not sure why he's holding the mug. It wasn't even his. And I'm standing all weird like that in order to show the mud coating my butt. I don't normally pose for pictures like that. Another memory of Ty . . . he put together my bookcases for me because I was a helpless girl who didn't know how to use a hammer or a screwdriver. Well, that or I didn't want to do it myself and manipulated his generous heart into doing it for me. He used to always drop by our apartment (the first apartment; the one stupid Billy got us evicted from, but that's a different story for another time) just to hang out. We had some really great times. Have I mentioned that he had a really great heart and was a super nice guy?

That's a nice way of putting it

Amy Winehouse Hospitalized Due to 'Bad Reaction to Prescribed Medication'

Um . . . I think that's called an overdose. I love it when people use the prescription medication excuse. Technically every pill I took was prescribed as well . . . just not necessarily to me or for valid medical reasons.

the brown chair

I am currently sitting in an extremely comfy recliner rocker in Lorri's parent's t.v. room. I've been sitting here for most of the day. I plan on sitting here for most of tomorrow too. And the next day. And the next. You see, Lorri has a daughter who is handicapped. Cortni is 19, but mentally between 6-18 months old. She lives in a home but when we come visit, we take her out for a few days to stay at her grandparent's house. For those few days we get to spend with her, it's all about giving Cortni loves and cuddles, so getting up and running around town isn't high on the list of priorities. Thus, we hang out in the t.v. room, watching E! and the Food Network and occasionally (quite often, actually) get up to eat. Actually, as I type this, I'm watching "Chelsea Lately" and eating marzipan cake. Are you jealous yet?

Maid Rites

My dinner this evening was the epitome of deliciousness. A Maid Rite is a Midwestern sammich that's kinda like a sloppy joe. Remember on "Roseanne" when they had the loose meat restaurant? It's that kind of thing. You basically just simmer hamburger and onions in broth until most of the broth is gone, then serve on a hamburger bun with mustard. It's super easy and super delicious. I plan on making these probably every other day or so in the future. Here is a recipe, but I'm betting you could just wing it.

a Primary funny

One of my little Primary chil'en was saying the closing prayer yesterday and said "Please bless that we won't hit each other. Please bless that we won't hit our friends. And please bless that we won't hit our neighbors. And please bless that we won't hit. Amen." Then he immediately whacked another little kid with his rolled up paper. I said "______, you just prayed that we wouldn't hit each other and then you hit him!" The little boy paused for a second, said "yeah," and then whacked another kid up side the head.

This is what I deal with.

Dude needs to stop talking

I admit it; I'm a big fan of the gossip blogs. I subscribe to far too many of them and waste far too much time reading them. Once in a while, though, when I see a post like the following, I feel that all that time has been worth it. The Superficial ran a post the other day entitled "Jean-Claude Van Damme probably shouldn't be allowed near women." It was basically about an interview he did with a chick from Newsweek. It was hilarious. Here's a snippet. To read more, click here.

-There's a monologue in the film about being a washed-up action star. Did you improvise that?

-----I like structure—like driving: go past the school on the street, stay on the right side, no hitting the car, go in right, you'll see a big church, stop and take a left, and you'll have it. By doing this I'm giving a structure of life, a path of light, and showing what happens between me and me, which is something very beautiful.

-Beautiful? Why?

-----I really opened myself up in "JCVD." I peeled back the skin of the fruit, cut the pulp and then took that very hard seed. In this film I cut that hard seed, and inside that seed was a kind of liquid cream substance of the man I am, or the woman you are.

-OK

-----It was like being naked—I would love to be naked in front of you.

-Well, I —

-----Not being naked being naked. I say such things in Hong Kong and they thought I was being a crazy Frenchman. Being naked of protection.

Um . . .

I'm not quite sure how to transition after that last post. I would like to talk about Jean-Claude Van Damme, but it seems a little bit inappropriate. So . . . take a moment to change moods before moving on. Actually, since you're probably reading the newest posts first, take a moment to settle down because the next post you read is kind of a downer.

Sadness

Shortly before heading up to Star Valley yesterday, Lorri and I found out that a friend of ours overdosed and died. Ty is our sixth friend from treatment to OD in the past three years. That's just how it goes in the addict world. It's been over a year since the last death and I've gotten perhaps a little too comfortable, so this really caught me off guard. It still doesn't quite seem real. Oddly enough, Ty is from Star Valley, so we went and visited his mom this morning. We just spent a minute with her but it was kind of surreal. I can't even imagine losing a child. I don't even want to think about it.

Every time another person dies I get angry. Going through rehab you meet all sorts of people and it seems like it's always the best ones who die. It's not the jerks who add absolutely nothing to society; it's the sweet, genuinely kind-hearted ones. It pisses me off that if someone has to go, it seems to always be the good ones.

I also hate that this will never end. There will never come a time when friends will stop dying. I'm only 27; friends aren't supposed to die this often until I'm old. And when I say six people, I'm only counting the ones I actually attended treatment with. If we want to talk about people I know from the program, the numbers shoot way up.

Addiction is such a horrible thing and it is so misunderstood. I don't think you get it unless you've been through it. Too often society seems to blame the addict and assume that they are choosing to use, when in reality, addiction is a disease. And yes, there are things you can do to manage it, but there is no way of curing it. All too often people ask why, when we see the damage we're causing ourselves and those around us, we don't just stop. I really wish we could. If we could just stop using and change the way we think, life would be a whole lot easier. But it just doesn't work that way.

Alright, that's enough sadness for now.

Also . . .

I'm heading to Wyoming tomorrow afternoon and for the next little bit I plan on doing absolutely nothing but eating, sleeping and blogging. And eating. I always jot down blog ideas during the day but never have time to write about them, so this next week you may just get a plethora of blog posts. Either that or I'll get sick of it and you'll get 3o one day and then nothing for a week. The moral of the story is you need to check in several times a day so you don't get overwhelmed with all of my extremely witty and entertaining blog posts at once.

huh

I just noticed that if you subscribe to my blog on Reader*, the post about Obama that I later deleted, is still there. Not sure how I feel about that as I tend to blog in the heat of the moment and later delete stuff. Oh well. Lorri and I were actually talking about this very thing the other day and she got mad at me for deleting posts at all because even if I don't feel the same way later, the fact is that I did feel that way at the time. Whatev.

*Yes, I do subscribe to my own blog. I like to see it how other people see it.

thoughts

I was watching tv earlier and saw two commercials that kinda bugged me. The first one was for UNICEF, which is a wonderful organization. However, this commercial basically consisted of beautiful people (celebrities) talking about or holding up photos of beautiful children. Are there no ugly starving children? Or do we just not help them? Do you think there are people out there who send their donation in, get their little letter and picture and when they see the child isn't cute, send it back and ask for another one? Like "Sorry, this child has a cleft palate. Don't you have a cute little kid whose picture I can stick on the fridge so I can feel good about my $20 donation?"

The next commercial was for something fabulous I'm sure, but I was too distracted by the fact that it was about a woman who not only does the Iditarod dog race, but is also blind. That's wonderful and she deserves all the praise in the world, but honestly, I'm pretty below-average in achievements and I don't need it rubbed in my face. My achievements are usually things like bathing and leaving the house on days when I don't have school/work. And if I'm completely honest, other than Sundays, that pretty much never happens. So really, if you want me to purchase your product or inspire me in some way, you should probably lower the bar. Like way lower the bar.

Some stuff

• Went to lunch with Ashlee today at the Brick Oven. I forgot about that place. I used to live across the street from it and went there a lot. It was delicious, especially the apple beer.
• Been listening to the new NKOTB album. MUCH more adult than 15 years ago. I like it. A lot.
• This stuff is magic. Really, it is. I'm pretty sure they make it with the dust of fairy wings and a drop of unicorn tears to really give it staying power. You must have it. For reals.

• Going to Wyoming for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to get out of Utah. No offense, Utahns, but it's better for all of us if I leave the state every once in a while. I think everyone is much safer that way. My guess is most of you feel the same way.
  
• I am now the proud owner of an original Nintendo, along with the first and greatest Mario Bros. and Zelda. You should probably come over and play Nintendo with me. One of the best things about it is the simplified controller. I can't play any of these new game systems because there are too many buttons and crap for my elderly mind.

Jordan being all sexy

Here's the video I mentioned in my concert post. Is it bad that it makes me laugh a little?

Mexican Tomato Lime Soup

I stole this recipe from one of the blogs I read, but I don't remember which one, so apologies to whomever I just ripped off. This soup is great. You should make it for dinner tonight.

1/4 stick of butter
1 lg. onion, loosely chopped
5 (ish) cloves of garlic, loosely minced
1 T. Oregano flakes
2-3 tsp. cumin
8-10 tomatoes
2-3 tsp. salt
5 cubes of vegetable bullion
8 c. water
1/8-1/4 c. fresh lime juice
Chopped, fresh cilantro
2-3 avocados
Monterey jack cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips

Saute the onions, garlic, oregano and cumin in a big soup pot. While they're cooking, cut the tomatoes into big chunks. Add tomatoes and salt to soup pot and stir. The salt helps the tomatoes "melt," which takes about 10 minutes. You can also add the bullion cubes now to start them disintegrating. Then, when the tomatoes are cooked, add the water. Let cook. Right before serving, add cilantro and the lime juice. (If you add the lime juice too soon it will lose it's flavor.)

Serve with diced avocados, cheese and crumbled tortilla chips.

*****I added shredded chicken breasts, and extra cumin and salt. Also, the butter was fine, but next time I'll use olive oil for the flavor and healthiness. ('cause I'm all about healthiness, don't ya know!) I also used chicken flavored bullion cubes because I didn't have vegetable.

The concert!!!

I'll admit that I was a little concerned going into this concert because I had built it up so much in my mind. I didn't want it to suck because my expectations were too high. I am pleased to announce, however, that despite my enormously high expectations, they were completely exceeded! Let me start at the beginning and I'll tell you the tale of possibly the greatest night of my life. I don't have a husband or little ones, so I can say that and be pretty sure that it's accurate. Kinda sad, but oh well.

Lorri and I decided that since it was such a special night, we would really live it up and go to dinner at the Sizzler. Kidding. Not about the Sizzler plans, though-we're both poverty stricken and she keeps getting gift certificates for there because the restaurant where she works is owned by the same peeps. Anywho . . . the line was too long there and everywhere else good, so we ended up at Training Table. Not to imply that the Training Table isn't good, but let's be honest . . . it's not that great. Their cheese fries and dipping sauce actually are quite good though. Because the restaurant is right by the E-Center, it was packed with groups of late 20's and 30-something women dressed in their finest 80's garb and NKOTB shirts. This did not please Lorri. She's far too good for anything like that. I'm not too good for it, I'm just physically incapable of showing that much enthusiasm.


So after consuming much greasiness, we headed over to the concert and took the obligatory, always slightly off-center self-shot.


We also ran into our friend Ginny who had far better seats than us, but don't worry-I'm not that bitter. Please ignore the double chin.


Then the show started. Lady Gaga was the opening-opening act and we would have taken a picture of her, but we were too baffled. We just kept staring at her trying to figure out what the crap she was wearing/singing/doing. Natasha Bedingfield was the opening act and she was much better. We at least knew some of her songs. Plus she has an awesome voice and wasn't wearing a weird leotard like Ms. Gaga.


Then the wait for the actual reason for attending the concert began. It wasn't very long, plus they had this cool thing where you could text in a message to be entered for a drawing, and what you texted would appear on the big screens on the front. There was all sorts of stuff texted in, mostly about not being jailbait anymore, how peoples moms wouldn't let them go to the concerts before, and a great one about how the New Kids are in Utah now, so they can have more than one wife.

Then . . . THEN . . . the fun really began! Along with massive amounts of deafening shrieking and screaming. (It probably would not surprise you to learn that both Lorri and I at different points in the evening, were ready to beat down a couple of girls.) The guys looked great and happily, no one was sporting a rattail. Our seats were on the second row off the floor, but they were a little further back so we were at an angle.


Hey look, there's Danny on the screen! He and Jon were pretty much in the background the whole time except at one point when Danny did some sweet break dancing. Remember back when the reunion was announced and I blogged about how Danny looks like a pedophile? Well I take it back. He is no longer Creepy Danny. I'm back to enjoying him.


At one point they moved to a mini-stage in the middle of the arena, so we got a much better view. Look, there's Jon! I can call him Jon instead of Jonathan 'cause we're tight like that. Random association, but remember in the first couple of episodes of Arrested Development, how Buster would have panic attacks and needed oxygen? I wonder if Jon feels like that before every show.


Look at Danny's arms in this one . . . he's still totally buff.


That's Donnie sporting the receding-hairline-covering red baseball cap below. I was never a Donnie fan back in the day, but oh my, I certainly am now! He looked awesome and was really good about playing to the crowd. There were, however, a couple of close-up crotch-grabbing moments where I couldn't help thinking "Dude, how old are you? Are you seriously still doing that?" Oh, and speaking of old guys trying to be all sexified, Jordan had a little solo moment and did the open shirt blowing in the breeze thing. I'll be the first to admit, he looked pretty darn good, but it just seemed a little awkward. I think there's a clip of it on YouTube. I'll post it later. Jordan and Danny were my two favorites way back when and I think I may possibly be over Jordan. Lorri and Erin can fight it out to see who gets him. He just looks like he's had a few too many run-ins with cocaine and strippers.


Here's where they slowed it down a little and Joey wore a gay scarf. (Disclaimer: when I say a gay scarf, I mean nothing derogatory or negative by it. I simply mean that it was a scarf that I could picture Perez Hilton or Steven Cojocaru wearing. Or maybe Elton John.) I was kinda distracted by said scarf. It was weird. Earlier in the evening when he did his little solo thing he also wore a gay shirt. It was black and foil-y gold. It's possible that my grandma owns something similar. If you click on the picture below to make it bigger, you can kinda see the scarf. Joey is the second from the right.


I had another picture to post, but for the moment, it is no more. As I said, Ginny had better seats than we did, and David Archuleta (Go David Cook!) was sitting nearby. Why he was at a NKOTB concert, I don't know, but Ginny took a picture and texted it to me, but I've texted too much since then and it has been deleted. So . . . if I can get her to forward it to me again, I'll post it. If not, it's o.k. 'cause I'm not a fan of little Archie. I know, I'm Mormon so I should like him, right? Well I can't. I'm sorry. Call me a cold-hearted biotch, but he annoyed the crap out of me. I'm sure he is very sweet in person, but I don't really care to find out.

So, in summary, the concert was awesome, Lady Gaga is weird, Danny is no longer creepy, Donnie's the shiz and Jordan, while still hot, has aged more than the rest.

so very, very good

I need to sleep now, but I'll just say that the concert was awesome. More details to come, but here's a little teaser . . . the evening involved a gay scarf/neckerchief, much crotch grabbing and David Archuleta.

laziness be darned!

I just posted a new recipe. We usually make this at Christmas, along with ham dip, which if I remember, I will post the recipe for next.

****UPDATED WITH RECIPE****

A Ball Made of Cheese

16 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. bleu cheese, crumbled
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c. onions, minced
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Bring cheeses to room temperature. Blend with onion and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and chill for 8 hours. Shape mixture as desired and chill for another 2 hours. Makes 2 small balls*. If you feel the need to ruin your chez balls, you can coat them with nuts. I don't believe in nuts.


*If you're a fan of The Office, insert appropriate Michael joke here.

It's the big day!

The concert is tonight and I am literally counting down the hours. As each hour goes by, I seriously think to myself "OMG*! Only __ more hours to go!" And then I may possibly shriek a little bit. Just a little bit though. And if my shrieking is ever brought up in the future, I will deny it and make you feel stupid when I ask you in an extremely snotty voice if I seem like the kind of person who shows enthusiasm like that. And then, when you realize the only possible answer to that question is no, you will want to shrivel up and die. That's why you should never, ever even hint at the possibility of me shrieking like an over-enthused Jonas Brothers fan.



*Yes, I do think in abbreviations. On many occasions I find myself snickering and muttering LOL.

new music

In order to stop Emily from harassing me, I updated the songs on my playlist. I will forewarn you, though . . . I may possibly have included music that I normally would never admit to listening to, but in reality I kinda like (Beyonce, Justin Timberlake). Don't judge the trendiness! Also, since we're talking about trendiness, I feel impressed to admit to you that my new favorite song is "Womanizer" by Britney Spears. I may possibly listen to it over and over again, especially whilst trudging across campus to my New Testament class. I know, I know, it's not exactly spiritually uplifting for a Bible class, but the beat keeps me walking fast. And in closing, I would just like to say . . . don't hate-participate!

Girlies, please!

I see that yet another nekkid picture scandal is rocking the Disney world. What is wrong with these girls? I think I blogged about this when I first saw it, but there was an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in which some nekkid pics of Kourtney were leaked or about to be leaked by an ex-boyfriend. Her response to this was that the lesson she learned was to be careful who she trusted. Um . . . no. How about the lesson is to not take nudies pics of yourself. (Oddly enough, this new picture scandal also involves a Kardashian . . . nekkid chickie's boyfriend is Rob Kardashian.) We live in a world of technology where it's hard to have secrets, especially if you're famous. Do these girls really think when their picture is being taken, that these photos won't eventually be leaked? Or maybe I'm just being naive in assuming that the photos were leaked without their permission. I guess it does generate quite a bit of publicity. Is that really the kind of publicity you want though?

Wino, don't you have people?

Now I know I'm not supposed to kick people when they're down, but let's be honest . . . that's when it's the most fun! Totally kidding! But not really. If I followed that rule, I would never ever be able to mock Amy Winehouse because seriously, that chick is always down. She reminds me of this woman I know who has problems with the bottle and always seems to be being discovered by the police; naked, behind the dumpster by the liquor store. It would be sad if it weren't so funny. Anyhoo, back to the Wino. One thing about her that I particularly enjoy mocking is her hair. I'm just not a fan of the beehive that looks as though it probably contains the remains of assorted insects and possibly rodents.

I've been hoping that someone would help her out with that, and then this morning when I woke up, I saw that someone had. Except that now she looks like a Jewish, crack smoking Annie. She also kinda looks like Adam Sandler in drag, don't you think?!? Just a little bit!

migraine from you know where

I have migraine and general headache issues. I used to get a headache for at least a few hours pretty much every single day. I also once had a migraine that caused one of my pupils to be twice the size of the other one. I used to take a migraine prevention med that worked brilliantly, but then I went back to school and lost my wonderful health insurance. Now I have crappy student health insurance that doesn't cover prescriptions. So . . . no more pricey miracle drug. I can usually tell if I'm going to get a migraine because I get little flashes of pain in my eye balls. Fun, huh! So I could tell yesterday that one was coming on, and sure enough, I got very little sleep last night because I was trying to keep myself from ripping my eyeballs out. You know how people talk about pain behind their eyes? Well I've felt that and it's nothing like this pain. It literally feels like it's inside my eyeballs and the only thing that helps is to put pressure on my eyes by pretty much shoving my fingers into them. So that's how I have spent my day today-being miserable and shoving my fingers into my eyes. Oh, and chugging Pepto to keep from vomiting. Except for some reason, the Pepto we had in the cupboard was cherry flavored. Who's ever heard of cherry flavored Pepto Bismol? It was about as delicious as you would expect, meaning it made me want to vomit almost as much as the migraine. So the point of my story is that if anyone knows a drug rep for Topamax who wants to hook me up with lots of samples, I will make them my honorary BFF.

check it out

My little brother, Mark, also has a blog and his last entry included the story of his broken arm, among other things. It was pretty entertaining. Check it out here.

Sunday Summary

Today was actually semi-eventful. Usually Sundays are slow days, perfect for napping. Oh, and worshiping the Lord and all that. BTW-are Sunday naps not the best kind of naps ever?!? Here's what went down today:

• Mark hurt his arm last night and when my dad took him to the ER this morning we found out it was actually broken. He says he did it by running into a wall. I told him that was pretty much the lamest story ever and he should probably make something up. Preferably something involving a burning building or a psychopath with a gun.
  
• Today was the missionary farewell of sweet, little Robert. We called him Bobby back in the day, but now that he's all grown up, I'll refer to him as Robert. Also, he's not really little and he probably doesn't want me to call him sweet. Whatever, Robert, whatever. I knew you when you were like three and I've put up with your sisters (Love ya, Em and Bets!) all these years, so I've pretty much earned the right to call you what I want. His talk was great and did not end badly. Let me reiterate . . . it did not end badly. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)
• I went visiting teaching today and completely forgot that I was in charge of the message. Fortunately, my companion is on top of things and was prepared for my inevitable slackerness.
• I just talked to the nieces (and my brother, but that's not what's important) and Ashley has a friend named Jolie, but she either can't remember the name or can't say it, so she calls her Ravioli. When she said Ravioli I could hear her mom in the background correcting her and so Ashley then started talking about Chili and not Ravioli.
  

Craptastic

You know those movies that are kinda crappy (horrible acting, questionable storyline, etc.) but yet you still find yourself watching them whenever they're on t.v.? Well, those movies make me happy. Movies like that just show that even if you're less than stellar, as long as you're persistant, people will eventually like you. Or possibly despise you. Anyway, here are my top picks for craptastic movies:

• Center Stage-This movie is so bad and yet so good. Oxygen has actually made a sequel that I have yet to see but I am patiently waiting for it to air again.
  
• Grease 2-When I was 10 my BFF, Crystal, and I used to sing about how we wanted a Cool Rider.
  
• Return to Peyton Place-The original Peyton Place is the ultimate movie that once was scandalous and now is just awesome. The scene where Doc Swain gets on the stand and tells off the whole town . . . fabulous! The sequel, however, not so fabulous. I still love it though. It makes me want to move to a small town and rock the boat. What would be even cooler is if it was a small town where you weren't allowed to dance, ala Footloose AND if you're a girl, they won't let you work in the mines ala North Country. Ooh, ooh, ooh! Check this out-the book you wrote in which the hypocritical town members are only slightly disguised is banned, you can't dance or work in the mines, plus the piece de resistance . . . it's Lent so you can't eat chocolate like in Chocolat. I think I need an agent, 'cause I'm pretty sure I've got the basis for an Oscar-winning screenplay right there! Move over, Matt and Ben!
  
• Toy Soldiers-Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton and Keith Coogan fighting terrorists? Pure genius.
  
• Don't Tell Mom the Baby-Sitter's Dead-I still quote this movie on a regular basis. "Dishes are done, man!" "I'm right on top of that, Rose!" "We have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to tidy up the garage." Love, love, love this movie!
• Cocktail-Not Tom Cruise's finest moment, although considering his couch-jumping issues of late, this movie doesn't seem so bad. I may possibly still attempt to do the cup tossing thing on occasion. But only on occasion.
  

best birthday ever

Remember when birthday parties at McDonald's were the ultimate in coolness?

Just a side note. . . the guy I have my arm around was my first kiss. I don't remember his name.

this picture makes me shudder too . . .

The 80's were not a good time for me, fashion-wise. I'm pretty sure those glasses could not possibly be any bigger.

still makes me shudder

This one time (not at band camp) when I was in the first grade, my family was outside when the phone rang. I started running inside to get it, but unfortunately I tripped and landed face down on the cement steps. I got all cut up and my upper front teeth were pushed back up into my jaw. Fortunately they were baby teeth so there was no lasting damage (well, other than the obvious brain damage-don't even try to tell me you weren't thinking it!). This picture and the thought of my teeth being viciously shoved back up into my skull still make me shudder violently.

Don't look too closely at the haircut-I think it was my mom's doing. A completely unrelated story-when we lived in Spain when I was in kindergarden, she trimmed my bangs and they ended up way too short. Everywhere we went people would say "Pobrecita!"

Jack Handey quote

I subscribe to a quote blog, and one of today's quotes made me chuckle:

"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it."

Thanks, guys!

Thank you to all of you who commented on my last post. I love that even though we don't all agree on everything, we can be polite and still get along. Not everyone is capable of this. For example, here are a couple of quotes from a couple of the blogs I read:

• (regarding Proposition 8) "F*ck you, Mormon church."
• "I think the most painful blow in this election is not simply the fact that a radical liberal ran away with the American vote, but that there did not seem to be enough Christians to make a difference. As the salt of the earth, we have "lost our savor". The foundation of our society has been infiltrated by the "termites" of secular humanism and who can we blame for its collapse but ourselves?"

Wow. I just can't win with this election-first I'm given the big eff you, then I'm basically told I'm not Christian because I support Obama. Oh, and that I'm a termite. The only thing I can say to that is . . . seriously? No, really . . . seriously?

last night's blog post

Most of you probably didn't have a chance to read it, but I blogged last night about the election and how I was hopeful about Obama and how I was proud to be an American. I deleted the post this morning. Not because I don't support Obama anymore or because I am any less disgusted with all the nasty anti-Obama emails I have received, but because of the backlash. I'll be honest-there's nothing quite like staring into the eyes of a fervent Utah Republican. You don't know crazy until you've seen the crazy that lurks deep within their souls. So, instead of my tender, joy-filled, happy post of last night, I'm just going to say this . . . 1. One of the great things about being an American is that if something isn't working, you can vote to change it. 2. To quote my Bishop about the election, both candidates are children of our Heavenly Father. 3. Maybe it's a sign that I'm a heathen and going to hell, but I personally don't feel the need to turn this election into some kind of religious crusade and proclaim Obama to be the anti-christ. 4. All of y'all who spent last night determinedly stating how you are going to leave the country now can just go ahead and move along. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

If you didn't get a chance to read my original post and would like to, I would be more than happy to email you a copy. If you feel the need to trash on my political stance, please do it elsewhere. And that's all I have to say about that.

bitterness makes the world go 'round

For those of you who know me, this may come as a shocker, but I really don't like it when people tell me what to do. I got an email today telling me that I needed to do something. If you would like to ask me to do something, chances are I will do it gladly. But if you tell me to do something, chances are I won't do it just because you pissed me off. Even if it's something I don't mind doing or possibly even want to do, I will cut off my nose to spite my own face. I realize this is possibly not the most Christ-like attitude, but I can't help it, I was born this way. From a very young age I was very obstinate and contrary. If I ask for your advice about two choices, I will inevitably pick the one that you didn't pick. Especially if it's my mom. I'm sure she learned many years ago to pick the choice she doesn't want so that I'll pick whatever she actually does want. Isn't reverse psychology great!

Something else that makes me slightly bitter is when the same person in my class feels the need to answer and/or comment on everything. I heard your answer to the last five questions, so maybe you should let someone else talk. Not that I personally want to talk or anything-I choose not to participate in class discussions as I'm pretty sure that the comments I have to make will not necessarily be appreciated by all in attendance. But I know there are others out there who have great thoughts to share, they just can't 'cause you-know-who won't be quiet. I know all of you know the kind of person I'm talking about. They always sit at the front of the class and place themselves strategically within the professor's line of view so that the professor can't help but see them and call on them. Now some of you blog readers may actually be this person. If so, I'm not judging you (or at least not much), so please don't leave me a comment about how if other people would raise their hands, you wouldn't have to keep raising yours.

monsters, I tell you!

So my little Primary young'uns, in honor of Halloween, rode into church on a sugar high yesterday and were little monsters. The previously mentioned demon child was back and that didn't help either. I must say, though, that amongst the terrors, there is one little child who makes me forget that I don't like my calling. He is the sweetest little kid ever. We had to have partners for an activity and he chose me to be his partner. (I am choosing to believe this was because he likes me and not because I was the closest person to him.) I actually baby-sat all his older siblings when I was growing up and all the other kids in his family are amazingly loveable too. I'm so glad that this little boy has been in my class. I'm going to miss him in January when they switch classes. :(

It's the final countdown!

Only 14 days until Lorri and I experience the joy that is New Kids on the Block in concert! My I Heart Jordan poster is almost finished!

Saw funnies

I saw the original Saw movie back in the day, but since they've been coming out like three a year and we're on about Saw 36, I've lost interest. Apparently Dave White from MSNBC agrees with me. He wrote a Dear John letter to the Saw franchise and it made me laugh out loud (although in my sickly and weakened state, it probably sounded more like a seal barking than a laugh). Here's a snippet:

Dear “Saw,”

This letter has been a long time coming. I just didn’t know how to put my feelings into words. But now I can say it: We’re through. Forgive my blunt words, “Saw,” but we’re breaking up for good. And not to make you feel bad or anything, but it’s not me. It’s you.

I guess you’re probably thinking that if I really understood you I’d have tarted up my words for you somehow and left you a cryptic note where I half-explained my unhappiness. Then I would have stuck that note inside an envelope that was also holding a key to a box. And that box would have been buried under a pit of deadly radioactive scorpions. That box would have contained your left lung, which I would have removed while you were under sedation. And I would have also filled your right lung with cherry-flavored Kool-Aid while simultaneously attaching a model train set to your skull. And then I would have outfitted the engine with little tiny rocket launchers that would set your entire face on fire. And you would have had 10 seconds to decide if knowing my true feelings were more important than having nuclear scorpions gnawing on you or having your nose melted off. I guess that would have been more archly poetic.

To read the rest click here.

holy laziness, batman!

I think I have just reached the pinnacle of laziness. I was going to post a new recipe but when I went to reach for my recipe files I realized that I moved my file cabinet. It used to be within arm's reach of my desk so I didn't have to move at all. Now it's like five feet away and I can't bring myself to stand up and take a couple of steps over to it. In my defense, though, those two to three steps involve stepping over lots of crap on my floor, thus changing normal steps into high-stepping, hiking-style steps, thus requiring too much effort in my sickly state. I wouldn't want to over-exert myself and cause my illness to linger.

sick . . . sick . . .

I'm sick AGAIN! I've been in bed with a nasty cold for the last couple days. I'm pretty sure this means I should be exempted from teaching Primary tomorrow.

Muahahahaha!

You must check out the Overheard in the Ward website. Some of my favorites:


Boy in sacrament meeting: Bread and water. Bread and water. That’s all they ever give us. I want a hot dog.

Non-Member: Does your church serve the little pieces of toast and the water shots?
Member: Umm… sure.


Young Man Blessing the Sacrament: Oh God, [long pause] the card is gone!

Heck to the yeah, mofo!

Word on the street is that there's a Footloose remake in the works and guess who the new Kevin Bacon is . . .

Zacquisha!

drooling

I must have these shoes in pink. Does anyone want to lend (give) me $760 plus tax? I promise I will (not) pay you back!!!

Shia

I am now officially obsessed with Shia LaBeouf. As long as I block out the memories of Even Stevens so I don't feel like a creeper, I quite enjoy him. I even lowered my standards and watched Transformers*. Everyone needs to watch this movie for one 10-15 second part. At around the 48 minute mark Shia talks about how Satan's Camaro is stalking him and his voice goes all squeaky. It's friggin' hilarious. I've watched it like 47 times. You probably should too.



*I don't believe in movies that contain superheros, robots, or mentally handicapped people as main characters. Occasionally I will watch said movies, but only under certain circumstances (eg. if Shia LaBeouf is in it).

Common knowledge?

I was talking to a couple of my co-workers last night (sexy arms dude was one of them) about an 80's movie (well, me talking; them pretending to listen while thinking about how they weren't born yet) and I mentioned the two Coreys. Can you believe it-they had no idea who I was talking about. Doesn't everyone know about Corey Haim and Corey Feldman?!? I just checked and even Wikipedia has a page about them. See here. I'm finding myself talking about a lot of stuff and people that they've never heard of. I'm really not THAT much older than them. Am I just a freak and know too much pop culture crap? Or are the Coreys general knowledge that everyone should have heard of?

A Halloween Miracle!

A miracle occurred today. My little Primary children were . . . wait for it . . . well-behaved! Not just well-behaved, but absurdly well-behaved. I don't know if their parents threatened them or drugged them or what, but holy cow! I've never seen anything like it before. Even the Primary Presidency noticed and were amazed. I think it may have been because this one particular little demon-child wasn't there today. But whatever the reason, I fully expect that this feat will never occur again so I'm just going to carry the memory with me in my heart and cherish it always.

It's Raining Men

This one gets really good around 1:10.

I Feel Pretty

Oh so pretty and witty and . . .

Barbie Girl

Add a little bronzer to Barbie and you've got my little Zacquisha!

The Sound of Music

One of my favorite movies growing up is now all that much better with a touch of Zacquisha.

Ready for it?

The next series of posts are going to be my own person tribute to Zac Efron (aka Zacquisha). Who knew there was so much about him to mock? (Me. I knew it. I knew it long ago.) Now I admit I do think he's a hottie, but good looks can only compensate for so much. Now let the mocking begin . . .

lame-o!

Gloria Steinem and Billie Jean King were on Oprah last week along with Maria Shriver, who I think looks like an alien. I absolutely love Billie Jean King. Awhile ago I listened to a lecture she gave about Title IX and it was awesome. Gloria Steinem, on the other hand, irritated me a little bit on the show. She kept talking about how all the work she's done for women's rights has been about giving women options. It was all about options and having a choice. But then she started talking about how it still isn't equal yet because more women are staying home to raise kids than men are. K, Gloria, but I thought it was all about options. Women's rights shouldn't be about forcing half of the women in the country to go to work while half of the men stay home. That's not really giving them options, now is it? The beauty of women's rights is that women can now CHOOSE whether to stay home with the kiddos or go to work. (and also voting and all that other crap) It just bugged me that she kept going on about options and women having a choice, but then essentially said that the women who stayed home while their husbands worked made the wrong choice. See when you give someone a choice, you can't then make little of the way they chose just because it isn't what you would have done. I'll get off my soapbox now . . . thanks for letting me vent!

today

So pretty much Cricket sucks. In honor of Arrested Development I tried to find The Final Countdown for my ring tone, but they apparently don't have it.

Speaking of AD, I made my parents watch the first episode with me yesterday and they enjoyed it so much we ended up watching four episodes.

Has anyone else noticed that Totino's frozen pizzas have shrunk? The price went up too. Jerks. Obviously if I'm eating your crapola frozen pizzas (which aren't crapola, btw, they're delicious) I have no money. If I had money I'd be buying Freschetta or Digiorno. Or actually going out for pizza. But I have no money, so I'm forced to pay $1.25 for your now hockey-puck-sized-pizza. And when I say I'm forced to pay $1.25, I mean my parents are forced to pay $1.25.

Does anyone else watch Gossip Girl? I haven't watched tonight's episode yet, but I finally watched last week's over the weekend and I have to say I'm pretty much in lust with Chuck Bass. Not that he's all hot like Nate, but geez louise, he's nasty! Not yucky nasty, but mean, bad-boy nasty. Janet Jackson Nasty Boys nasty! I love it! And I'm also sick of Dan and pretty much his whole family.

I'm going to see Eagle Eye tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to see some Shia LaHottness.

K, well that's all I've got for today. I'll let you know how the movie is . . .

new recipe posted

This one is a family favorite. We usually have it with Christmas dinner and sometimes at Thanksgiving.

Seriously?

I went to ShopKo this evening and they already have their Christmas stuff out. Can you believe that? Actually, CostCo had theirs out like a month or two ago. Before you know it they're just going to keep it out all year long.

Did anyone watch The Office last night? I loved Dwight's butter-covered watermelon baby. When Jan came in with Astrid (aka Astird), I felt bad for Michael. He was so looking forward to the delivery.

I'm applying for a grant through ORCA (Office of Research and Creative Activities) and spent three very long hours working on the proposal tonight. I think they must make the submission process a pain in the butt so that not that many people will apply. If my research project is approved, I'll basically be running the control group for the study I'm working on later, involving the effects of drugs on the way the color blue is seen. Our hypothesis is that visual processing, particularly the way the color blue is viewed, differs with gender. The retina contains 4-6 million cones, the shortest of which you use to view blue light. If you're addicted to drugs, particularly cocaine, your dopamine levels (which effect your ability to feel pleasure and cause cravings) get all messed up and screw with your short cones. The long-term goal of the project is to come up with more effective treatment options based on physiological information and not just modifying behaviors. If all goes as planned we'll be able to use EEGs, ECGs, ERGs and GSRs* to help judge a little bit better whether treatment is working or not. Wow, I sound like I totally know what I'm talking about! It's much more interesting than it sounds.





*electroencephalograms, electrocardiograms, electroretinograms, and galvanic skin responses

playlist

I just joined the bandwagon and added a playlist thinger to my blog. I'm thinking you should just leave my page up on your computer so that you can enjoy the fine tunes. It's a perfect blending of country, folk, oldies, rock and chillax music. This means that if you use Reader, you're going to have to actually to go my page. You will do it and you will like it.

longest day EVER!

Wanna hear about my exceedingly long day today? I thought so. I was up at 5:30(ish), left for school at 7:30, went to class and studied until 3, and worked from 3 until 9:30. I just got home. I'm worn out. But, despite the fact that my day was forever long, it was a really good day, so all is well, all is well.

And on to a different subject . . . I am trying my darndest to be social and . . . wait for it . . . it's not as bad as I imagined. Shocked are you? I hung out with a friend all day yesterday (remember my homemakerness?), I'm hanging out with her again all day tomorrow, I've got a Girl's night Saturday and next Thursday, plus a work party next Friday and I'm hanging out with a friend from work on Tuesday. Holy Mother Teresa! It's amazing how much you can do when you actually leave your house! While I do miss my hermit lifestyle, I think I'm going to stick with this for a while. I'm pretty sure that God is blessing mankind through my newly acquired social skills. If you feel the need to have God's blessing (me) in your life, just let me know and I'll pencil you in!

homemaker extraordinaire

Wanna know what I did today? Well, let me tell you. I picked grapes, washed them, juiced them, and canned the juice. Oh, and while the grapes were juicing, I helped grind wheat (meaning I pushed the on button on the wheat grinder) and make homemade whole wheat bread. I am very proud of myself. I think this may possibly be the most productive day I have had in pretty much my whole entire life. Are you proud of me? I'm pretty sure you should be.

The Elders!

Walking along in Cusco we ran into the missionaries! Here is Elder Vela and Elder Loa. Just think, Packhams, that'll be Roberto before the year's out!

Can we be done now?

There were many, many pictures taken during this trip. I'm not a picture person. Let's look at an example.

Here's my aunt, cheerfully showing off the most famous stone in all of Cusco. It's 12-sided and is from the original walls.

And here's me, pretending to be cheerful, pointing out the dumb rock. If I could have flipped the camera off without getting yelled at, I probably would have.

funnies

Occasionally we would see signs in English that had been translated correctly, but mostly we saw signs like the below. (Remember my baked piglet?)

Don't even think about it!

These dogs are the cousins of the Ugliest Dog in Peru. What is even more interesting is that this picture was taken in the kitchen of a restaurant. Those dogs better have their food handlers permits if they're gonna be in there!